Tag Archives: Dog Grooming

Shih Tzu Day 91: Cats and Spats

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Kitty Doing Better

tabby cat on couchSpot Collins is still with us. He seems to be doing well. Panda isn’t doing as well, though. When I checked in at the Dumb Friends League, I was told that he still isn’t eating. Mom is worried, but hopefully we’ll have good news soon.

Tear Stains

shih tzu up closeshih tzu up closeWe groomed Candy and Flower a little. I have been researching the tear stains on Flower’s face, after discussing it with Liz Hover, the mom of Sadie Shih Tzu. She said that Sadie had tear stains, but that they eventually went away when she started feeding Sadie an organic homemade dog food recipe she makes out of all organic products, including elk or bison (chicken, turkey or beef also work), veggies, eggs, apples and blueberries. I am going to try it when I gather those ingredients. In the meantime, the owner of Paws n’ Play said to make sure that the kibble I feed them is high quality grains. She said to try that step before trying grain-free kibble. She gave me some Fromm samples to try.

I also bought some moist towelettes to use on the stains to see if that would work. I read that people also use corn starch, so I bought some to try the next time I bathe Flower.

My Couch! My Mom!

shih tzu on animal print blanketDottie definitely needs to learn to share Mom. Flower tried to jump up on the couch this afternoon, and Dottie growled at her again. Flower jumped back and didn’t attempt it again. However, Dottie forfeited her place at the end of the couch a while later, leaving it open. Flower came up and licked my leg, scratched at in and then came up. I think Dottie gave her a dirty look. The whole time that was going on, Candy sat peacefully outside, in front of her shed, enjoying the great outdoors.

 

 

Shih Tzu Day 90: Kitty Invades Shih Tzu Central

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Muddy Buddies

shih tzu with muddy feetshih tzu with towel on her headWe woke up this morning to the sound of Spot Collins meowing in the bathroom. Shortly after that, the dogs started barking. I headed out the bedroom door to greet the dogs, and John picked up Spot Collins to take him downstairs.

shih tzu with towel on her head

When the girls came back from romping in the grass after breakfast, I realized it was bath time for the dogs. Grass and mud covered all of their paws.

Dottie and Candy are better at baths than they are with blow dryers or clippers. They both shook, but we bathed them without them getting too traumatized. Flower was very good.

I took the dogs upstairs separately, beween baths, to blow dry them. As unexpected, they all tried to run, but they couldn’t go far, since the doors were shut.

Wherever they went they were close enough where I could point the blow dryers at their bodies at least. I left their faces alone.

Spot Collins Visits Shih Tzu Central

shih tzu with towel on headWhen all of the dogs were finishing drying at Shih Tzu Central, Spot Collins wandered over, drank a little of their water and then jumped onto the dog bed occupied by Dottie and Flower. Dottie stared at him a few minutes and then decided to get in another dog bed. Flower just kept staring at him like he was from another planet.

two shih tzus and a kittenSpot Collins is better. He drank lots of water and ate his kibble. When John took a shower, he set SC’s carrier nearby, so he could get his prescribed sauna. He is still sneezing quite a bit.

shih tzu with kittenWhen John left, SC kept crawling up on my lap. I let him stay there for a while. Flower stayed away from the couch. Dottie wanted up, but instead of sitting on the couch, as usual, she sat up on the arm.

shih tzu and kittenFlower started getting more aggressive towards Spot Collins after John left. She was growling at her, so I ended up putting the kitten back in her carrier for awhile. When I let him back out, Flower was too busy chewing on her bully stick to notice.

Flower jumped up on the couch for her massage-scratch-petting session. As soon as I started petting her, Dottie showed interest, too. Their fur was so soft after their bath this morning. Flower just sat next to me, so I could scratch her chest and haunches. Dottie, however, rolled over on her back for a tummy rub.

Candy never comes up for petting action. However, when we were watching Dancing With The Stars, I sat her between John and me. She actually relaxed and lay down, one paw on my leg, and stayed there for probably twenty minutes while John petted her.

Google Alert

I have Google Alerts set up on words involving my work, as well as words that will pull up articles to tweet about, such as puppy mills and shih tzus. I also have an alert for the Denver Dumb Friends League, because I like to tweet info about animal shelters and rescues. Today, my Google Alert gave me three articles on the Dumb Friends League; one was my post on Day 77, telling about Mom’s adoption of Panda and Spot Collins. It was a pleasant surprise, because I never expected to get an alert on my own articles.

Shih Tzu Day 83: Just Another Tuesday

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More Grooming for Candy

shih tzu on carpetWe did a little grooming on Candy. She is still the worst one on the grooming table. She bites at the clippers and squirms and wiggles. She seems to do a little better when she can’t see the clippers. She had a short session. She ran off as soon as we let her down, but then she came back and got her hot dog pieces. At least she isn’t so traumatized she can’t eat.

As soon as John left, Flower and Candy came out of their corner and started wandering around. Flower came up on the couch looking for food. I know I shouldn’t, but I gave her half of a frosted mini wheat, so then had to give one to Dottie and Candy too. Flower stayed there while I petted her, but got down shortly after I helped Dottie up.

Looking Guilty

shih tzu on a carpetI haven’t put my beautiful cowboy area rug back down, because we need to clean it again. After we clean it, I guess we will only put it down when we have company. I miss it, but I have to break them out of the habit of peeing on it. I know they liked to sit on it, though, so I put their red blanket from their couch on the floor. I had it down for a few hours before I noticed a wet spot! My guess is that is was Candy and Flower. When I pointed and asked who did it, both of them looked guilty; also, both of them scampered under the dining room table.

A little later, I went into the spare room to print a coupon. I don’t let Candy go in there, because I think she’ll pee on the carpet, but I did let Dottie come in with me, because she is so good with the training pad — and she peed on the carpet! I know I am not supposed to raise my voice, because puppy mill dogs particularly are fragile dogs, but I couldn’t help it. I chased Dottie out of the room, stomped downstairs, pointed toward the door and told them to go outside.

Fall Wardrobe

I didn’t want the girls to think I was angry with them, so I made sure to kiss them all goodbye before leaving to run errands. While I was out, I went to PetSmart, and then next door to T.J.Maxx/HomeGoods. While I was looking at the pet stuff, I found three adorable sweaters for Dottie, Candy and Flower. I don’t want summer to end, but at least I have their fall wardrobe!

When I got home, I took the girls outside to give them their apple and chicken snack, and then left them out for a while, hoping that if anyone needed a potty break, they would take care of business. The bad thing about leaving them outside when I go inside is that I don’t know who took that opportunity. A little after they got in, however, Candy ran upstairs. That often means she’s looking for a place to relieve herself, so I quickly followed her up there, and she ran back downstairs. I asked her if she wanted to go outside. She did, and she did her business, so that spared us one spot to clean up. As soon as I remember to buy some, I’m going to try to train them to ring jingle bells when they need to go outside.

Flower Loves Lovin’

shih tzu on carpetCandy was excited when John got home, although Dottie and Flower acted wary. They warmed up to him again by the time we went outside and he produced the treat bag. We also gave them a teeny bit of our Noosa yogurt, in three separate little bowls. We hadn’t given them any in a while. They love  it.

We are one of those couples who usually eats our meals on the couch, in front of the T.V. Tonight, we had leftover roast. Flower quickly caught the scent and leaped up onto the couch, hunting for the source. That prompted Dottie to jump off the couch without even begging for any roast. Flower stayed for about 10 minutes after I gave her a bite, waiting for me to finish eating so I could scratch her chest and pet her. Then, she lay down for awhile, staying there until John came back into the room. I am glad that she’s learning how to be loved. I still recall very vividly when she ran every time I tried to get near her — and pooped!

Shih Tzu Day 79: More Grooming for Dottie

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Grooming Dottie for Her Party

groomingGentle Groomer suggested. Dottie is getting two grooming turns this week, though, because tomorrow she turns 6, and we want her to look pretty for her “party.” John clipped her body and her toenails. Her grooming session went better today, since we weren’t touching her face.

Checking up on Spot Collins and Panda

shih tzu on makeshift grooming tableIt has been a very quiet day. Earlier, I thought maybe Flower didn’t feel good. She ran up the stairs to get me as usual, and did her usual dance when waiting in anticipation for her food. But later, after we came inside, she just lay in her dog bed looking listless. She seemed to be okay this afternoon, though.

I brought Candy up to sit with me on the couch while I talked to Mom on the phone (she jumped down as soon as she got a chance). Spot Collins, the 3-month old kitten we got her from the Denver Dumb Friends League, can’t come out of his kennel yet, because of the sutures from his neutering operation. Mom said that at 1:00 a.m., SC started screeching. When Mom and Buddy, her adopted dog, came to see what the problem was, the screeching stopped. Spot will only be quiet if Buddy sits by her kennel. I don’t know if that means that she likes Buddy or that she is afraid of him. As for Panda, the 8-month old cat Mom adopted, Mom has fallen in love with her. All Panda wants to do is sit on Mom’s lap. Maybe later, after the shih tzus have acclimated completely, we’ll think about adopting a cat.

A Dog Treat Taste Test Tie

shih tzu upside down in dog bedThe afternoon has been very quiet. Dottie lay down next to me while I worked on the computer most of the afternoon. Flower was a little antsy, coming to see me, then going to her couch, then going under the dining room table for awhile. Candy lay on the carpet at my feet for sometime, chewing on a treat and looking cute.

I have been experimenting with rawhide and non-rawhide treats. I did a taste test, throwing out an equal amount of both on the carpet and seeing who would go for what. Candy went for the Grreat Choice Flips, that are flat, white rawhide treats. Flower seized a small Pork Chomps Mini Knotz. Initially, Dottie just lay on the carpet watching them. When I looked again a little later, she was chewing on a Flip, so Candy must have given it up. There are always half-chewed treats lying on the floor, which they pick up randomly and chew on.

Shih Tzu Day 77: Visit to the Denver Dumb Friends League

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More Grooming For Dottie

We put Dottie on the grooming table this morning. Surprisingly, she wasn’t as good as Flower was the last few times. We couldn’t get her to keep her head still, when we were trying to groom her face, mostly. Also, she kept wanting to sit down, so I had to keep sitting her back up and tickling her tummy to try to get her to stand.

shih tzu on a makeshift grooming table

Dumb Friends League Visit

I left the house when John did, to take my mom to the Dumb Friends League has waived their fee temporarily on cats over one years old. Cats between six months old and a year are $50, and kittens under six months old are $120.

You can see kittens playing when you first go to the cat area at the Dumb Friends League. I fell in love with a tabby named Spot Collins. Mom liked a small black and white kitten, but someone else did too, because they pulled it out for someone while we stood there.

We were told that some of the cats were in a confined area because of a highly contagious upper respiratory infection, but that we could still look at them. We put down the numbers for three of the older cats, plus Spot Collins, and then waited to visit with the pet counselor.

shih tzu on makeshift grooming tableAs it turned out, two of the cats we wrote down had the URI, and Mom didn’t want to affect her other cats, so we crossed them off our list. I founded another cat, 8 months old, and already neutered, whichI thought Mom might like, so I had the counselor bring him into the room so we could visit with him. He was black and white and named Panda. She liked him, so we started looking for a friend for him. We brought an orange tabby in, but he didn’t seem very friendly, so we ruled him out.

I talked Mom into visiting with Spot Collins, and he passed inspection. We brought Panda home, but Spot Collins, 3 months old, needed to be neutered, so I will have to go and pick him up at the Dumb Friends League tomorrow. I would have liked to take him to our home, but I don’t know how the girls would react. Maybe at a later date.

Ants in Candy’s Pants

I didn’t get home until late in the afternoon. Of course, the girls were excited, to see me, and I’m sure, to get their afternoon treat. Candy seemed to have ants in her pants later on. She jumped and danced all over the carpet, and then went under the table and started growling, at seemingly nothing. It is possible that she saw a mouse that we have seen a few times. That’s another good reason to bring a cat home.

Flower kept coming up and putting her paws on the couch. I think she would want to sit with me, if Dottie wasn’t always there.

It rained, so when John got home, he gave them their evening treat from the couch. Dottie and Candy eagerly took theirs. Flower eyed him warily, ran up, took one, and then ran around in a circle on the carpet. I really wish I knew what causes her erratic behavior.

While John was out of the room, I put Flower on the couch, on the other side of me. She stayed for a while, but jumped down, so I went and got Candy. She seemed relaxed. She put her head on my leg and stretched out. She was there for probably 15minutes. When John came back into the room, he sat on the other side and petted her. She didn’t get up until he got up about ten minutes later.